Signs from the Sky
by Creekfeather13
Summary: AU where the Dark Forest won. Dovewing and a small group of Thunderclan warriors escaped to the Tribe while the rest of the clans were imprisoned. Now nearly three seasons later, Dovewing's kits who grew up in the Tribe, must deal with their mother's failure and figure out what their part is in saving the clans.


EDIT: Thanks to Wildebunny the Eternal for making me aware that I can't have a separate chapter for allegiances, so I just combined both into one.

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**A/N: This is an AU after the Last Hope. It's a story I've been brainstorming for a few years now and I'm finally uploading it :D **

**I really hope you guys enjoy it!**

**And I don't own anything but the plot and my OCs.**

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A yowl of agony echoed throughout the large cavern, briefly overwhelming the thunderous sound of the waterfall outside. Cats gathered around the large cave shared looks of sympathy for the young she-cat as another wave of pain came over her. Her mother pushed some damp moss towards Dovewing's muzzle to coax her to drink some, "You're doing great, my love. Your kits will be here soon."

A large brown tom sat beside the gray queen, a paw on her belly to feel for contractions. "Your kits will be here soon. There're at least three." He spoke evenly, hoping to soothe the young she-cat's discomfort a little. He turned to a gray and white she-cat, a former kit-mother herself who was blinking helplessly at the situation.

"Wing, organize a hunt. We will have a feast when our new tribe members are born." Wing's eyes widened in surprise at his words but dipped her head. "Yes, Stoneteller."

She beckoned a muscular gray tom to join her. "Stormfur, I'll go get some cave-guards, will you find some of the lake cats to bring along? They need to start learning how to hunt like us."

The former Riverclan tom nodded before he turned his amber gaze to pinpoint a sleek-furred cream she-cat and lithe brown tom. "Rosepetal, Foxleap! We're going on a hunt!"

Both clan cats bounded over, Foxleap showing more excitement in his eyes as he told Rosepetal, "Just wait until you see how they hunt here! It's so cool!" Rosepetal's gaze was skeptical, but the she-cat followed her clanmate without a word.

Stoneteller watched his tribemates interact with the clan cats and let out a breath of relief. They seemed to get along well despite some of the newcomers' surprise in how different their ways were. It had been just under a moon since the Thunderclan cats had come asking for refuge and the clan cats were still adjusting to living in the mountains, but his tribe-mates were also struggling with accepting the clan cats coming into their home as well.

Turning his attention back to Dovewing, he saw that she was still crying out in pain from the kitting. He spoke to the white she-cat at her daughter's side, "The kits will be here soon, Whitewing. I need you to help her know when to push."

The snow-furred she-cat nodded in determination; her willingness to be there for her daughter was touching. Not all of the clan cats had been supportive of Dovewing's news, which had forced the stragglers of the Great Battle to flee the lake to seek shelter in the mountains. It was something a lot of the lake cats were bitter about.

He sympathized with the clan cats. He knew what it was like to almost lose their home, first with Sharptooth many moons ago, and then with the other group of cats came to the mountains to threaten their isolated existence. But his tribe had evaded the choice of having to leave their home with the help of the clans, something he would never forget. It was why he had no hesitation in allowing them refuge; in the condition that they follow tribe traditions to appease some of the more doubtful tribe cats of welcoming so many strangers.

He hoped that by welcoming the kits into the tribe it would be a way to unite the two groups.

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The three kittens squirmed as Dovewing licked each of them lovingly. "Welcome to the world, my loves." The new mother whispered to her kits as Stoneteller and Whitewing watched with joy.

Exhaustion shown in Dovewing's green eyes, but she turned to her mother. "I'd like to name them now. Will you help me?"

The white she-cat nodded eagerly at the little tom and two she-cats. "The tom has your coloring," Whitewing murmured, "And a bit of Bumblestripe in the shape of his head."

Dovewing's eyes flashed with something, probable sadness at not knowing how her mate was faring. "I'd like to call him Skykit. His pelt reminds me of the morning sky."

"Sky That Swallows the Stars." Stoneteller said while leaning over to sniff the tom, "That can be his tribe name." The little gray kitten squirmed slightly at the leader's touch but kept suckling without pause.

Dovewing's eyes narrowed at his statement, "What do you mean?"

Straightening his spine, he explained. "These kits were born in the cave and that makes them a part of the tribe. But I must insist that they have a proper tribe name." _Especially the tom_, he thought to himself. There was something special about him.

Dovewing's fur began to lift in hostility. "Are you telling me that I can't name my kits what I want?" She asked with an unfriendly tone.

He quickly shook his head, aware of his overstep. "No I can't take that right away from you, but if the kits have proper tribe names it shows that they are blessed and accepted by the Tribe of Endless Hunting. This way your kits will ancestors to watch over them while they lived in the mountains since you are all out of your Starclan's territory."

Dovewing's fur flattened as she heard his logic and thought about the unknown fate of Starclan and guilt prickled underneath her pelt at the role she had in that. But looking down at the kits at her belly, the queen knew she had to protect them at all costs even if it was from herself.

While Dovewing contemplated what Stoneteller said, Whitewing looked stricken. "What about the rest of us clan cats?"

"You're our guests. The Tribe of Endless Hunting will protect you while we show you goodwill, but these kits were born here. This will be their home, they should be treated like tribe cats."

After a few more moments of debating, Dovewing nodded. "I want what's best for my kits. Thank you for letting them join the tribe, Stoneteller."

Wrapping his tail around his paws, he dipped his head. "Then we shall give them tribe names. Do you like the name I suggested for your son?"

"Yes," Dovewing murmured while running her tail over her son's fur - the same color as hers. "We'll call him Sky that Swallows the Stars. Sky for short."

"What about Skykit?" Whitewing asked.

"No, I want them to have tribe names." The new mother said affirmatively, "They will be tribe cats."

"Okay," Whitewing licked her daughter's ear. The white she-cat peered over the larger of the two female kittens, "Her dark pelt looks like dark storm clouds. How about Rain from Passing Storm?"

"I like it. For the storm that delivered us to the tribe." Dovewing meowed while Stoneteller's eyes gleamed in approval. "Rain for short."

Turning her green eyes to her last daughter, Dovewing leaned down to nuzzle the dark tortoiseshell. The tiny she-cat wriggled in protest, batting a paw in the air blindly.

"A little warrior," Whitewing stated.

"Yes, my little warrior," Dovewing mumbled to herself, her voice cracking slightly. "I want to name her something fierce, like the birds from the mountains."

"Her coloring reminds me of a falcon," Stoneteller commented.

"It's perfect." Dovewing purred, "Falcon That Swoops to Land. But we'll call her Falcon." Her daughter was the runt, but the queen could already tell that her she-cat would grow into a spirited cat.

Whitewing curled up next to her daughter and looked over the kits happily. "Sky, Rain, and Falcon are strong names. I'm sorry that Bumblestripe had to miss this."

Still gazing lovingly at her kits, Dovewing just added. "I wish Ivypool and Birchfall could meet them." Her culpability for their absence still weighed heavily on her shoulders.

"I know," Whitewing murmured, "But we have to believe that they're alright. And that they will meet the kits someday." The white she-cat got up and stretched. "I'm going to get you some prey."

Stoneteller bid his good-bye before following Whitewing towards the main part of the cavern, he had to announce the names of the kits to the tribe while they held their celebration feast. Once the two cats left her, the new queen wrapped her tail protectively around her kits. "One day I'm going to have to leave you to finish the prophecy, but I promise that you'll be safe here my little loves. I won't let you suffer for my mistakes."

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A few nights later, Stoneteller stared down at the moon reflected at his paws. It was full, casting its soft glow on the stones around him. The pointed stones in the back of the cave drew a sharp contrast in the light, reminding him of the talons of a bird preparing to strike.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Stoneteller whispered to silence, his ears perked forward in anticipation. Peering forward he saw a lone dark cloud creep forward to cover the moon at his paws, completely casting out the shadows on the jagged stones. The talon-like shadows disappeared completely while the cloud was barely visible.

"Talons from a bird and a passing storm cloud," the leader murmured furtively. "Why are they disappearing?" The dark gray tom continued looking up at the sky. There he could only see the darkness of night, with the stars winking down on him as they danced around the hidden moon.

Stoneteller sat down, his eyes still on the sky. "Why did you show me Falcon and Rain, but not Sky? What separates them?"

After a few heartbeats, as if answering his question, the cloud moved. Stoneteller's breath caught in his throat as he looked up to where the moon should have been. _It's gone!_ He watched in awe as the sky grew lighter and the stars faded away, _the sky that swallows the stars! There is his sign!_

Looking back towards the jagged rocks, he noticed that the shadows were gone, "The falcon's talon is no longer there…" Turning his gaze to where the rain cloud had been, he gasped when he saw it was gone too.

"Rain and Falcon will leave," Stoneteller said, as the sky grew into a light gray, "but Sky will stay. He will walk among our ancestors and be one of us." Following his declaration, the gray morphed into a pale red, edges tinged with blue. The sun was rising behind Sky, signaling to Stoneteller that the tom was more special than originally anticipated.

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**Allegiances:**

**Tribe of Rushing Water:**

**Healer:** Teller of Pointed Stones (Stoneteller) - dark brown tom, Formerly Crag

**Prey-hunters:**

Wing Shadow Over Water (Wing) - gray and white she-cat

Stormfur - dark gray tom with amber eyes

Brook Where Small Fish Swim (Brook) - brown tabby she-cat with gray eyes

Flight of Startled Heron (Flight) - brown tabby she-cat

Screech of Angry Owl (Screech) - black tom

Splash When Fish Leaps (Splash) – brown tabby she-cat

Shadow of Bird's Wing (Shadow) – black and gray she-cat

Dark Shadow Hovering On Rock (Dark) - black tom

Rabbit Hidden Under Peak (Rabbit) – dark gray tom with a stubby tail

Hollyleaf – black she-cat with green eyes

Whitewing – white she-cat with green eyes

Foxleap – lithe reddish-brown tom

**Cave-guards:**

Night of No Stars (Night) - black she-cat

Sheer Path Beside Waterfall (Sheer) - dark brown tabby tom

Moss that Grows by River (Moss) - light brown she-cat

Pebble that Rolls Down Mountain (Pebble) - gray she-cat

Flicker of Dying Fire (Flicker) – reddish-brown tom

Frost that Settles on Rock (Frost) – white and gray tom

Moon Rising After Night Falls (Moon) – dark gray and white she-cat

Squirrelflight – dark ginger she-cat with green eyes and a white paw

Mousewhisker – gray and white tom

Rosepetal – dark cream she-cat

**To-Bes:**

Lark That Sings at Dawn (Lark) – gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes (Cave-guard)

Pine That Clings to Rock (Pine) – light brown tom (Prey-hunter)

Owl That Haunts the Night (Owl) – black tom with white underbelly (Cave-guard)

Leaf Blown in the Breeze (Leaf) – pale silver she-cat with green eyes (Prey-hunter)

Wind Howling Across Mountain (Wind) – light gray tabby tom (Prey-hunter)

**Kit-mothers:**

Snow Falling on Stones (Snow) - white she-cat, mother of Dark's kit: Dusk That Settles after Day (Dusk) - dark dark tom with blue eyes

Dovewing – gray she-cat with green eyes, mother of Falcon That Swoops to Land (Falcon), Rain from Passing Storm (Rain), and Sky That Swallows the Stars (Sky)

**Elders:**

Talon of Swooping Eagle (Talon) - dark brown tabby tom

Bird That Rides the Wind (Bird) - gray-brown she-cat

Gray Sky Before Dawn (Gray) - pale gray tabby tom

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**A/N: Do you guys have any predictions for what's going to happen? Anything specific you'd like to see? Please let me know by leaving a review! I have a rough outline of where I want this story to go, it's going to be at least three different phases, and switching between Sky, Rain, and Falcon's POVs throughout the timeline.**


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